Member of ASEAN (Association of South East Asia Nations)
Geography
261,000 square miles (size of Texas)
Capital: Rangoon (Yangon)
45 million people
5-6 million internal refugees
Over 1 million refugees in Thailand
Over 500,000 refugees in Bangladesh and India
People
60% Burmese, 40% ethnic peoples
80% Theravada Buddhists
Economy
80% agrarian economy
US$107 per capita income
One of the 10 poorest countries in the world according to the UN
2nd worst country in terms of education and health care
Rates near the top in human rights abuses
Largest supplier of opium and heroin to the United States according
to the State Department
International Relations
Government condemned by US Congress (1997), European Parliament,
UN Human Rights
Commission, ILO (July 1998), Amnesty International, International Red Cross (1995).
